Buick

Following the launch of the Regal, Buick will be introducing its next all-new model sometime in 2011. Set to launch as a 2012 model, the Verano compact will slot in beneath the Regal sedan, though we’ve been told on several occasions that it will not share a platform with General Motors’ other new small car, the Chevrolet Cruze.

According to the infomongers at GM Inside News, the automaker recent sent a letter to its Buick dealers inviting them to participate in an order study in an attempt to gain knowledge about what pricing and trim levels would be most attractive to potential buyers. The details, available after the jump, reveal that the Verano will be powered by a 2.4-liter inline-four (same as the Regal) that produces 180 horsepower and 172 pound-feet of torque, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission, and will be initially offered in four trim levels.

If the letter is to be believed, the base Verano 1SB (the alphanumeric likely being an internal designation) is estimated to start at $20,900. From there, the 1SD model adds Bluetooth, automatic climate control and remote start, and will be priced from around $22,100. 1SG models add a power driver’s seat, heated mirrors and rear park assist and should command roughly $23,300. Top-trim 1SL Veranos will have heated leather seats, premium audio, a heated steering wheel and 18-inch wheels. Expect the top-rung 1SL to retail for around $25,600, with pricing reaching as high as $26,200.Read more…

Buick has released an all-new version of its popular GL8 in China. Developed by Shanghai GM, the executive people-mover wears a freshly redesigned exterior with sculpted body lines and a new front fascia. Inside, GM has thrown the luxury book at the van with tricks like blue ambient lighting, a 10-speaker sound system and two-tone leather seats. An attractive seven-inch touch dominates the dash, though it looks like Buick has managed to hold on to the excessive amount of buttons on the center stack that have become the brand’s trademark as of late. Rear passengers, meanwhile, get the benefit of a 10.2-inch HD display for movies and the like.

Under the hood, GM has fitted a 3.0-liter V6 as the GX8 flagship mill, though a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine is also available for the fuel-conscious buyers of the People’s Republic. A six-speed automatic gearbox takes care of cog-swapping duties. Hit the jump for the full press release after checking out the gallery below.

Alright, so the 2012 Buick Regal GS isn’t the Americanized version of the 325-horsepower, all-wheel-driveOpel Insignia OPC we were once promised. Still, this sports sedan has a turbocharged and direct injected 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that produces 255 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, comes standard with a six-speed manual transmission and has enough visual flare to certainly give the impression of fast. It even sports Buick’s trick HiPerStrut front suspension to reduce torque steer through the front wheels.

It might not be exactly the car we were hoping for, but it should still prove to be a welcome addition to theBuick lineup when it goes on sale next year. Pricing has yet to be announced, but considering the Regal itself is priced as an entry-level luxury sedan, we expect the GS model to cost closer to $40,000 than $30,000.

The Regal GS made its official debut today at the LA Auto Show, and we’ve got a full gallery of high-res shots live from the show floor for you. Curb your disappointment and click through the gallery below.

Think of this as a Buick LaCrosse Hybrid. General Motors’ new eAssist technology employs a 115-volt lithium-ion battery and 15-kilowatt electric motor to increase fuel economy by 25 percent compared to today’s four-cylinder LaCrosse. This means the Buick sedan will achieve an estimated 25/37 miles per gallon (city/highway).

During initial acceleration, the electric motor delivers 15 horsepower and 79 pound-feet of torque to get the LaCrosse moving. A torque-smoothing function is activated as the gasoline engine is turned on, and the eAssist system kicks back on during deceleration, using a fuel shut-off feature and regenerative braking, combined with a start/stop system for the 2.4-liter gasoline engine. At full tilt, the gas engine produces 182 hp and 172 lb-ft of twist to keep things moving along at speed, and is mated to GM’s Hydra-Matic 6T40 six-speed automatic transmission.Read more…

General Motors is boasting that the new microcontroller in the ECM behind the Ecotec 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder in the 2011 Buick Regal is the ultimate power in the automotive universe. According to the company, the computer packs the quickest processing power of any microcontroller in any vehicle on the market right now. The ECU uses three megabytes of flash memory to handle a host of adjustments for things like air intake and “spark optimization.” The tech plays a big part in the amount of horsepower and fuel economy that GM has managed to squeeze out of the tiny 2.0-liter.

All told, the ECM is good for 125 million operations per second. Compare that to the 1 million operations per second of the company’s first powertrain control module, and you can see just how far on board computers have come since the 1980s. Of courses, given how quickly technology advances, something tells us the Regal’s brain won’t hold onto its title for long. Hit the jump for the press release.Read more…